Jean Marsh, the co-creator and star of the seventies BBC hit, Upstairs, Downstairs, is suggesting that the new ITV series Downton Abbey, which is drawing eyeballs, certainly closely resembles her earlier series. "I think we were all surprised. The new Upstairs, Downstairs had been in the works for about three years. We were trying to sort out … 40 years of rights and then it also started – Downton Abbey – in the Edwardian era, which Upstairs, Downstairs did. So it might be a coincidence and I might be the queen of Belgium," Ms. Marsh said on an interview show. An updated version of Upstairs will begin airing on Boxing Day (December 26) on the BBC. More here from the Guardian. Both the original version of Upstairs, Downstairs and volume 1 of Downton Abbey are available on DVD.